Virginia Hanlon Grohl, mother to the Foo Fighters’ Dave, recently released a book about what it’s like to raise a rock star. From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars not only dives into her time raising a key member of Nirvana and the Foos, she calls on other famous band moms about their experience.
At an event for the book at Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this weekend, Dave Grohl flipped the script and interviewed his mother about what it was like to raise him. In the interview, Grohl and his mother discuss a time where her enthusiasm for her son’s playing lead to extreme embarrassment. Apparently, a still-green Grohl was convinced to sit in behind the kit with a group of professional jazz players at a club near their home. Grohl said he gamely attempted to play along with the combo until they graciously let him leave. But Virginia had a defense for wanting to see her son make a fool of himself onstage.
“It was my birthday!” she said over Grohl’s story.
From Cradle to Stage is out now and features interviews with the mothers of Dr. Dre, Getty Lee, Adam Levine, Michael Stipe and the recently reinvigorated Haim. Check out the interview up top and grab a copy here.
